Dark Change in Konoha
by jkgirl
Summary: Life in Konoha High was filled with happy friendship and young love; until a villain tore controlled one friend with a threat and forced him to turn away from his friends. After four years of separation, they meet again but in silence. Will they reunite again or remain separated? ENJOY READING THE STORY!
1. Chapter 1

**Hello to all readers of Naruto, **

**This is my third story for Naruto characters, filled with hardships and romance. While I looked at Damleg fanarts of Konoha High School, I developed another idea of writing a contrast story from it. I hope you all will like it. (Right after **_**Attack in Konoha**_** I will continue with this story.)**

Chapter 1: Konoha High

Konoha High School was a prestigious school which stands apart for all the students. Students must work very hard and excel their learning progress, for their teachers were very strict and want their exceptions from every student. The school dress code was highly mandatory for all the students and there is never any free dress on any day. Girls must wear standard black skirt and white shirt with knee-length socks, and boys wear white shirt and black pants. They all wear white shoes.

There was Uchiha Sasuke, one of the top student in the school, was the most cutest and popular guy which every school girl is attracted to his looks. He has black eyes and chin length hair (spiky at back and side bangs). Truthfully, he is mostly a loner and self-centered person, but he has two friends he mostly hangs out with—Naruto Uzumaki and Sai. He is the nephew of the Police Chief Uchiha Madara, and he has an older brother, Itachi, who is studying in the USA. He personally lost his parents from a tragic car accident when he was six, and his uncle took him in and raised him since then. His main goal is to attend the police academy and train becoming a detective like his father was. Furthermore, he is also skilled in martial arts. Without anyone notice, he has a slight interest on Sakura because she is so different from all of his fangirls—her personality and academics; she always treat him like a normal classmate. Unlike his worst stalker (Karin), she would always seduce him by showing her chest and talking sexy, but he would disgustingly push her away and ignore her.

Naruto is Sasuke's childhood friend, and they have an inseparable bond. He has blue eyes and spiky blond hair), and he always wear a black headband with an orange swirl image and a black cloak over uniform. He was considered as a knucklehead and a pain in the neck to all teacher and classmate. He does very poor in all of his classes, and he would always complain at his teachers about test that he wasn't notified (he doesn't pay attention enough). He is an orphan but lives with his godfather and adoptive father, Jiraya, living with him; therefore, his mother died in childbirth and his father from a car accident when he was four. He mostly wears a blue crystal quartz necklace in the memory of his father. His father was the head of the Uzumaki Company; after his death, Jiraya took his place. Therefore, he wants to take over his father's business and work well like his father did before he died. In addition, he does poorly in all classes so that he attends summer school to get his credits. He doesn't know that Hyuga Hinata has a deep crush on him; however, he originally had romantic feelings for Sakura since elementary school. One time in middle school, he asked Sakura out on a date which she accepted friendly; then he eventually confessed to her but got rejected. However, they agreed to stay friends since then. Whenever he has problems, he has his friends helping and giving him advices.

Similar with Naruto, Sai is an orphan and lives in a home with his foster father, Danzo. He has pale skin, and black hair and eyes. He is a talented artist and won many art competitions; he is also smart in his classes. Furthermore, he had a foster brother named Shin who treated each other as real brothers and stood together. However, he lost Shin from a rare disease two years ago; thus he became lost with his emotions and shy toward people. He mostly hangs out with Naruto, who supports him to understand others, and he is very appreciative to him.

Hyuga Hinata is a quiet and shy student, but she is intelligent with excellent grades. She has dark blue hime hairstyle and white-lavender eye color. She has a deep crush on Naruto for his strong attitude of not giving up, and he holds courage and unity. Truthfully, her family is wealthy by her father running the Hyuga Company, and she is the heiress of the family business. She has an overprotective cousin, Neji, who despise Naruto and sees him as a brother. He always warns her about Naruto and calls him the son of a murderer. However, Hinata ignores him because she doesn't see Naruto that way at all.

Hyuga Neji is the cousin of Hinata and the nephew of the Hyuga Company headmaster. He has long brown hair and white-lavender eye color; also he is highly skilled in martial arts and respectful towards his teachers. He is dating Tenten and friends with Rock Lee. When he was six, his father died from a car accident and he heard some rumors in the family that Minato was responsible. Since that day, he held a grudge on Naruto, and he hates every time when he sees Naruto close with Hinata.

Yamanaka Ino is a popular girl with strong positive attitude and has passion for fashion. She has blue eyes and long blond hair, tied in a high ponytail with a bang covering her right-side face. Her mother owns a flower shop, and her father works as an interrogator for the police. When she was young, she saved Sakura from bullying and helped her gain confidence; they became friends with Hinata together. She is also unknown that Sakura is jealous of her self-confidence. She is personally dating Sai and understands his troubled emotions, so she teaches him with communication and to open up. In comparison, she is an expert of floral design and had won many schools' Spring Flower contest. Furthermore, her father is best friends with Sakura's father.

Last, Haruno Sakura is one of the prodigious female with many excellent grades; she is the second top student. Therefore, Naruto has liked her beauty and kind heart. She has bright pink waist-length hair and green eyes. She is the daughter of Haruno Kizashi who is Japan's well-known, bravest police detective for solving many crime and cold cases and arresting most dangerous wanted criminals. Her two best friends are Ino and Hinata since kindergarten, and they have always stayed by her side. When she was young, she was bullied by her classmates for her forehead; she had been called as _Forehead._ Until Ino came to her rescue and helped her gain confidence, and gave positivity about her forehead. She dreams about going to medical school in order to become a talented doctor and herbalist for medicine; as a result, her grandmother died from a terminal illness when she was five. She does community service and joins school science clubs for her resume; also she helped many school activities to her teachers. Whenever she is exhausted, she would go and sit under a cherry blossom in the school yard. She personally has a crush on Sasuke, but she keeps her distance to give his space. She often speaks with him whenever he has questions about class assignments and exam notes.

The worst of all in the school is Karin. She has red hair, one side long and the other uneven, and red eyes wearing glasses. She is a school troublemaker and gossipmonger because she bullies Sakura and her friends about their fashion taste and spreads rumors about them. She has a huge crush on Sasuke and tries everything but always fails to get his attention. She has a competitive attitude for fashion (similar with Ino), and she personally holds a grudge on Sakura for getting close with Sasuke. Every time she sees Sakura and Sasuke talking, she gets angry and plans something to do to Sakura.

(~~~~~~)

Sakura was reading her history textbook, preparing herself for next week's test. On her desk, there were her notes; she read them all with her books. She studies every day in the same manner; even so she is her teachers' favorite student. Later, she got tired and dropped her things on her desk, rubbing her head to calm her stress. Studying every day really gives her a headache, but she was eager to focus and pass her classes.

"Hey, look at Forehead," Karin's blonde friend, Aiko, whispered. "She again looks dead from books." Karin giggled.

"Everyone, listen up!" Their teacher, Kakashi, announced. "Just to make sure that everyone knows that we have our next week's test, so study over weekend." Kakashi has been their teacher for three straight years; he has white spiky hair and face mask. No one knows why he was hiding his face or how it looks like, but they would picture it in the minds.

"Hai!" all the students said. Naruto groaned and banged his forehead on his desk because he didn't know or noticed that they have a test next week. Thus, he doesn't have any notes or didn't study much. _I'm so dead! _He grew depressed aura above him.

_**After school-In the Girls Bathroom:**_

Ino was applying a shimmer-pink lip gloss which made her look beautiful. "You guys should try this on," she recommended them.

Hinata commented, "That color looks so pretty!"

"Are you trying to attract Sai, Ino?" Sakura asked with a smirk. Ino tensed and steamed red, chuckling nervously. Sakura and Hinata giggled for knowing Ino's crush on Sai. He was one of the cutest guy in the school, compared with Sasuke.

"Maybe he will ask you to make a painting of you," Hinata teased giggling. Ino grabbed Hinata by the shoulders and teased her about her crush on Naruto which also embarrassed her. Sakura laughed humorously.

"Well, if it isn't the three losers of Loserville," they heard Karin. She had her two friends with her; Aiko, and a dark wavy chestnut hair colored girl named Aya. "Trying to look pretty? Looks like you doing a horrible job." They glared deadly at her without insulting back. "What's wrong? Has a cat got your tongue?" She teased more. Karin and her friends laughed, but they still haven't heard them say anything back.

Sakura and her friends were scaring their enemy with glare and silence, for it was better to not say anything back to them. Sakura's parents had taught her to ignore people's mockeries and avoid starting catfights, so they told her to not say anything back to them. They stood there for another minute, and Karin grew impatient with their silence. Before she said something else, Sakura told her friends, "Let's just go." She walked to the door while her friends followed her behind.

"Don't ignore me!" Karin angrily shouted and pushed Sakura hard right after she opened the door. Hinata and Ino gasped.

Outside, Sasuke noticed and caught her before she could hit the floor. Karin shrieked for seeing Sasuke holding Sakura in his arms. Hinata and Ino got surprised.

With Sasuke's help, Sakura stood on her feet and turned to see. "Thanks for saving me, Sasuke" Sakura thanked him kindly.

"Don't mention it," Sasuke shrugged as if it was nothing. He doesn't like receiving gratitude from anyone.

"Still," Sakura insisted. "See you around." She left and her friends followed her. Sasuke also left walking after looking at her for a second.

Karin was left there standing like an idiot with defeat. She growled with fury, "I will soon get that forehead." She decided to let it go for now and left with her friends following her.

_**To Naruto and Sasuke:**_

Naruto and Sasuke were on the ridge, chatting. "Teme, you know you can't be alone for all your life," Naruto said. "You should give someone a chance."

"Wait a minute! When did you become a woman expert?" Sasuke asked. "Was it from your date with Sakura after she rejected you in middle school?"

Naruto blushed nervously and looked away, "I'm not a woman expert, I just valued feelings." Sasuke sweat dropped for considering him as an idiot. Then, they heard a ring of a cell phone. Naruto looked at ID and answered, "Sai, what's up?"

Sasuke looked out thinking _Maybe Naruto's right. I will need to give someone a chance._ He admitted himself, but his only problem was that there is no one interests him. Suddenly, a cherry blossom petal caught his eyes _A cherry blossom? _And he touched it. _There aren't any trees around here._ He remembered the time he saw cherry blossoms one time before his parents died. It flew down, and there he saw Sakura on the zebra-crossing line.

_Sakura… _He watched her standing there lovely with her long pink hair flying in the air. She slowly turned and saw the cherry blossom petal. She smiled and touched it, and it flew away. She kept the smile after the petal gone away, and continued walking. He stared at her entirely; until she disappeared into the crowd. _Could it be her?_ He wondered if the cherry blossom petal may have been a sign. Sakura is the girl for him?

"Hey, teme! We have plans to the mall tomorrow!" Naruto scared him out of his thought.

"Damn you, dobe!" Sasuke smacked him hard on the head. "Don't do that while I'm thinking!"

"Ow!" Naruto held his head to ease the pain. "Easy, man! You coming?!" He couldn't understand why Sasuke suddenly got so angry with him for what reason.

"Of course, I am!" Sasuke told him, still glaring at him. He groaned annoyingly and walked home, leaving Naruto confused. While walking, he kept thinking about Sakura; he has known her since elementary school. She is very different from all of his fangirls _It could be her? Oh, I'll give it a rest for now._

_**To Sakura:**_

Sakura arrived home, "I'm home!" She removed her school shoes and put on his pink slippers, and she hung her bag on a wall hanger.

"Sakura! Welcome home!" she heard her mother, Mebuki, replied and came to hug her. Her mother was a beautiful woman with short dark blond hair with side bangs and green eyes. He was wearing a sleeveless pink shirt and white short pants, and red slippers. She loves her family so much and shows devotion to her husband.

"Welcome home, cherry blossom!" She heard her father laughed, "How was school today?" Her father was sitting in his chair, reading newspaper. He has a dark pink short hair, tied in a short ponytail, with side bangs and blue eyes, and angular moustache. He was wearing black pants and white long sleeved shirt (sleeves rolled), and dark blue slippers. Outside home, he was considered handsome to all women, but he ignores them and keeps his eyes on his wife. What Sakura loves about him, he was very protective of his family, and honorable to bring justice and peace in all of Japan.

"It was fine! I finished my homework early in class!" she told him.

"That's good, honey." Her mother said, "Tomorrow you may have some time to relax and calm your mind." She was considerate for her daughter's well-being, yet she does want her daughter to do well in school.

"Thanks, mom." Sakura smiled for appreciating her mother's worries about her. "How about you, daddy? You solved more cases or made some arrest today?"

"Not today! Maybe next time I will," He giggled humorously. He always tells his family about every case he had been solving which Sakura would find them mysterious and adventurous. "Oh Sakura, meet me outside before dinner." She nodded and went to her bedroom.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: A Surprise Date at the Mall

**Hello, everyone! I know I mentioned that I will start writing this story after **_**Attack in Konoha**_**, but I made up my mind. So, starting this day, I will begin writing two stories at different length of time. **

Sakura and Hinata came to the Konoha Mall Plaza, looking for Ino. There were a lot of people inside; there were families shopping and mostly teenagers with friends hanging out. When they found her close by the food court, they didn't find her alone but with Sai.

"Sai, hey!" they greeted him. "Hi!" Sai replied back. _What is he doing here…and especially with Ino? _They wondered, _Did Ino asked him out?_

"Hey, girls!" Ino explained, "I wanted to surprise you gyus." _Sakura and Hinata will be so surprised._

"So, Ino didn't tell you that this is a group date with Naruto and Sasuke?" Sai surprised them even more.

"Group date?!" they exclaimed. They both expected that hanging out in the mall will be their usual girls-hang out, but they seemed to have caught off-guard by Ino's secret surprises.

"Hey, Sai!" they all heard Naruto. "We finally found you, man!" He came with his best friend, Sasuke.

"Naruto, Sasuke…" Sai said, "What took you guys so long?"

"Sorry, we were at the video game store." Naruto explained, "Ah, Sakura-chan! How you been?" He blushed while asking her in a closer space which made Sakura move back. _Baka! _Ino and Sasuke glared at Naruto for scaring Sakura like that.

Later, they all sat in a round table of the food court. "It feels good to take a break before the exams," Naruto said. _I'm freaking out, by the way…_

"You're not telling us that you've been ditching studying," Sai predicted him. "You have about Wednesday to pass your tests…which is less than a week. I am also wondering how much notes do you have, or did you not write any notes from class?"

Naruto stiffened with anxiety and shook like a busted freak, "Sai, will you talk about other stuffs than about school?! I do not like this conversation at all!"

"Hmph!" Sasuke smirked with eyes closed, "Dobe, if you continue being like this even in college, you'll face in probation or worst, expulsion."

"That's not part of the conversation, Teme!" Naruto shouted at Sasuke. "I won't get arrested in college." Sasuke just smirked carelessly as the others laughed. Naruto frowned and Hinata sweat-dropped blushing.

"Naruto," Sakura stated "Sasuke-kun meant that you will face probation which means you will be unlikely not returning back to college for low grades. For less time of studying and low grades, you will be in danger of getting kick out of college." Naruto turned white with fear and grew a depressed aura, and Hinata patted him on his back to cheer him up. _What a dobe… _Sasuke shook his head and glanced at Sakura who was smiling at Naruto; her expression with her smile was hopeful that she does want Naruto to do his best in college. Her kindness, along with her smile and intelligence, it was so mesmerizing to him.

_**To Karin:**_

Karin also came to the mall with her two best friends, all dressed up like they want guys to stare at them and girls to look up at them for hot fashion. She was wearing a black top shirt, showing her belly button, and tight short shorts, and with thigh-length boots. "They must envy us for being such high fashion, don't you think, girls?"

"Totally, Karin!" Aiko answered confidently.

Then, Aya spotted something that surprised her. "Ah!" she shrieked and grabbed Karin by her sleeve. "Karin, isn't that the big forehead? It looks like she's on a date with Sasuke-kun!"

"What?!" Karin screamed and turned to see. She found them sitting together and exchanging their cell numbers. What made her the angriest was that they were sitting so close. "That can't be true! What is she doing with him?!"

Aiko also couldn't believe it. "Karin this isn't right! You have to do something, or that bitch is going to take him away from you!"

"Grr!" Karin bit her right thumb angrily. "Since when do they have meetings like that? I've never imagined such a thing! This has completely taken me by surprise." She started thinking of a plan on how to punish Sakura. "She's going to regret this…because I'm going to hurt her where it hurts the most."

_**To the gang:**_

They ordered their food and drinks, and they continued communicating. "It feels so nice to be seventeen and out of our houses." Ino said, "We had to go out with our parents while growing up."

What she said about her parents, it also offended their parents. It upset Sasuke more because Ino does not know what she was talking about. Sakura started making a compliment, "Ino, you don't actually mean that about your family." Ino looked at her confused. "Even though I am turning seventeen and starting to college next year, I'm going to miss being with my family."

They all listened to her with eagerness. "My family's courage and support kept me going to do well in all my classes, and they let me do curriculum activity in after-school, like giving tutor to classmates with science, history, and mathematics. Every day I am with them, I have always enjoyed hearing my father's crime cases and doing some volunteer work with my mother as a teacher assistant and filing in office." They all were growing fascinated with her story about her family, and Sasuke was becoming more interested with her good talk about family. "When I will be away in college, I will miss my normal routine at home. I enjoy talking with them about our daily and telling them about my dream college at the USA, and they would feel sad with the long distance but want me to succeed my attainment in the medical field."

They all awe about her educational dream and standing efforts, and Ino felt like wanting to cry about her wrong words about her family. "I'm so sorry," Ino apologized "you are so right about the good side of family."

Sai commented, "I must say, Sakura, Kizashi-san must be lucky to have a daughter like you who wants to change the world. Just like him, your name and face will be recognized in all of Japan.

"Not just as the daughter of the Great Detective Kizashi Haruno," Hinata said. "You will eventually be called the great Herbalist and Doctor Sakura Haruno."

Naruto blushed at Sakura, "I can see that you really love your parents so much, Sakura-chan." He may not have his parents with him, but he still loves them. He had observed the view of parenting; he have seen kids getting scolded and lectured, it was harsh but he understood the role of parents to their children.

"Sakura, you are very different from people who are clueless." Sasuke said sternly, "They don't know what they are saying with what they find so annoying." Everyone stared at him with stunt, and Sakura nearly jumped when he said she is very different from annoying and clueless people who don't care or love their family much. Even though he wasn't scolding at her, it sounded offensive as an insult.

"Sasuke-teme!" Naruto shouted, pointing a finger at him. "How could you say something so harsh like that?!" Sasuke didn't talk back, just sit quietly with eyes closed.

"Easy, easy!" Ino tried to calm the commotion, "Why don't we talk about something else?"Hinata and Sai agreed to prevent conflicts.

"Yeah, that's a good idea." Sakura also wanted no arguments between friends. Naruto growled with arms crossed and Sasuke just sat calmly with no shame. "Oh, I almost forgot…I need to call my dad. I'll be back in a few minutes." She left the table with her phone in hand.

The friends carried with the conversation, and Sasuke moved slowly while staring at Sakura. He was afraid to admit about having feelings for her, and he blushed a bit to the thought of him and her as a couple _Sakura… _He turned back to his friends and continued to talk with them.

_**To Sakura:**_

Sakura was in the women's bathroom, talking on her phone. "Yeah, I won't come home late. I promise, daddy. Okay, I'll see you later. Bye." She finished talking to her daddy for five minutes about avoiding coming home late and assuring him she won't take long staying in the mall.

Since she was in the bathroom, she stared at her reflection and imagined herself dressed as a doctor. She giggled, "The New Famous Herbalist and Doctor Sakura Haruno…" then her father appeared standing beside her, "with the Great Detective Kizashi Haruno." When she was about to leave, she spotted Karin standing in front of the door.

Karin started, "You look like you are having fun, right, Sakura?" Sakura glared at her silently, thinking what she was doing here. "Still with the silent treatment? Well then, it is quite of coincidence of us meeting here. I only came here for shopping, don't you think, big forehead?" she asked while touching her hair.

"Hmph!" Sakura slapped her hand off of her hair. "I don't know what you are getting at here, but I am not going to waste my time with you. So, you better get on with your life and stay away from me." She was heading to the door to leave.

Out of surprise, Karin scolded angrily "Since when have you been so great?!" and grabbed her hair so hard and tight. Sakura screamed and was forced on her knees. "I don't know how you got a date with Sasuke-kun, but I am not going to let you be with him!" Karin tightened her grip on the hair, which was hurting Sakura, and Sakura tried to get free.

Aiko came in, "Karin, we're here! How is it coming?"

"It's about time, you girls come!" Karin was happy to see her friends here to help her.

"I'll keep a lookout!" Aya informed them while holding on the doorknob.

"Alright! Aiko, help me hold her down!" Karin called over. Sakura looked back at her to see what she was planning on doing. Karin then said, "Sakura, did you know that Sasuke-kun never liked girls with short hair? Don't worry, this will only take a moment."

_**To the gang:**_

Everyone was eating their food and still waiting for Sakura. It has been more than five minutes since she left to call her dad. Her friends were starting to get worried.

"Ino, do you think something has happened to Sakura?" Hinata asked. "She has been gone for a long time."

"I think so, too." Ino said, "Maybe we should go look for her."

Sasuke was also concerned about Sakura, and he was suspecting that something happened so he decided to go look for her. "Naruto, I need to go. You can have my share, I'll see you later."

_Huh? _Naruto watched him leave and wondered that Sasuke was only leaving to find Sakura. _Maybe you're going looking for her? _He lifted an eyebrow, _Teme, are you feeling something for Sakura?_

_**To Karin and the girls:**_

Karin finished with her torture on Sakura and stood back to see how she did, and how Sakura looks now. However, neither of them was smiling from their completed progress as they were supposed to be.

"Karin…" Aiko broke the silence "I don't think this was as fun as you said it would be."

"Yeah…" Aya agreed "She looks terrible." She admitted her opinion on Sakura's new look.

Karin didn't like it either and assumed that she tormented her only prey with horrific fashion, but she found that she went too far from out of control. So, she threw down the scissor by the hairs on the floor. "Let's get out of here! Quick!" They quickly ran out of the bathroom, leaving Sakura alone.

Sakura wanted to go after them, but her curiosity took over her about Karin and her friends' silence of her haircut. Afterwards, she slowly stood up and looked at her hairs on the floor. She touched her hair and *gasp* felt it so short just above her shoulders. "My hair…" she grew terrified how her hair would turn out to look as she was thinking. She was afraid to look at herself, but she really wanted to see it. With hesitation, she turned her head to the mirror and stepped back from the sight of her haircut. It was indeed terrible as Aya said.

_**To Sasuke:**_

In the crowd, Sasuke was searching everywhere for Sakura. He looked everywhere, in every store a girl would like to shop in and where anyone would like to sit to rest, but he had no luck. He tried to catch the glimpse of Sakura's pink hair, yet he found nothing.

_Where is she? _He wondered, "Did she go home?" From where he was looking, he caught Karin and her two friends running through the crowd. _Karin? _He noticed the speed she was running, like she was in a hurry or she was escaping from something.

"Karin!" Aiko cried, "We shouldn't leave Sakura alone like that! This is going to cause big problems to us!"

Karin didn't want to think the nightmare if she gets caught by witnesses. So, she suggested, "Just keep running!" She just kept running to leave the mall, never turn back.

After she disappeared, Sasuke managed to hear what they said about Sakura. "Leave her alone? So, she is still here…!" he was relieved that Sakura didn't leave after all. However, he had no idea where she is so that he must figure it out.

_Where would they leave her alone? _He stood to think for about a minute. He pretty much thought it would be the women's bathroom where girls would go for some space time. He never forgot how Karin hates Sakura for an obvious reason he was aware, and how she would do anything to make Sakura suffer. So, he headed to the current location.

_**In the women's bathroom:**_

Sakura was inside sitting on a toilet, crying, while trying to brush her hair with her fingers and her palms to push it down. It was hopeless to fix herself. In addition, she didn't bother to call her friends because she didn't want them to worry. _What can I do now?! _She was trying to think how to leave the mall without getting seen by the big crowd. She didn't want anyone to look at her haircut or see her as a hairy weirdo, and her sweater was too short to cover herself.

Sasuke entered the bathroom, and he first found something on the floor. "Hair?" he noticed it was pink hair which it was clear to him was Sakura's hair. He next spotted the scissor by the hair. "What the hell happened here?"

He started to worry that Karin had used the scissor to hurt Sakura after cutting her hair. He needed to find her, but he heard the sniffles behind the toilet door. Without second thought, he opened it. "Sakura!" he found inside. He paused when he saw her and widened with a narrow shock, "What…have they done to you?"

He saw her long hair was gone. It was cut above her shoulder, and it was messed up. Another thing, he found her crying.

Sakura took her time to get surprised. "Sasuke-kun!" she moved back "You shouldn't be in here. You'll get in trouble when you're caught in the ladies room."

"Hmph! That doesn't matter!" Sasuke shrugged. Sakura stood to leave, but he held shutting the door for not letting her to leave. "I'm not letting you go until you tell me what happened and what Karin did to you."

Sakura looked at him without a thought of what to tell him about Karin trapping her and cutting her hair. She was about to speak, but she heard two girls' voices had entered the bathroom.

(~~~~~~)

"Did you notice who Hiro was with at the new clothing store?" One girl asked her friend.

Another girl said, "Yes, but wasn't he going out with Naoka?"

"That's what I thought, too." The first girl said, "It wasn't her we saw."

(~~~~~~)

Sasuke locked the door very quietly, so the two girls wouldn't hear or know he and Sakura were inside.

"Shit! Now we can't get out of here!" Sakura whispered. "What are we going to do?"

Sasuke looked at Sakura and found her thinking of a plan how she could help get him out of the bathroom without being seen. He appreciated how she cares for him and always liked her treating him as a normal person. So, he placed a hand gently on her left cheek which stopped her thinking. "SSHH!" he hushed her in a low tone. She blushed and noticed how close he was by her face.

Next, he started leaning and pulled her head closer to him. She felt her heart beating fast and realized what he was going to do which made her nervous. Therefore, she started pulling back and even tried to move back. He noticed her resistance, but he quickly figured that she was just nervous. To ease her anxiety, he did an eye smex at her eyes which stopped her movement. She got lost in his beautiful onyx eyes and moved closer to him, and he placed another hand on her other cheek. She then put her hands on his chest.

"Sakura…" he breathed under his breath as he brushed his lips with hers.

"Sasuke-kun…" she slowly closed her eyes after taking the last stop to connect her body with his.

(~~~~~~)

An orange-haired girl opened her purse and the corner of her eye found the hairs and the scissor. "Hey, what do you think happened here? There is a ton of hair here on the floor."

A black short hair girl was applying lipstick on her lips shrugged, "I don't know…"

(~~~~~~)

Sakura and Sasuke were locked in a blissful kiss and held each other in a love embrace. She moved her hands up and wrapped her arms around his neck. He lowered his hands, wrapping his left arm around her waist and his right hand behind her neck. They deepened the kiss as they moved in a perfect sync, and they were pouring and telling their feelings in the kiss as they held tightly but gently.

"Public restrooms are disasters lately." one of the girls said.

The other girl said, "I know. You'll never know what you'll run into."

Sasusaku completely ignored the girls and forgot they were out there because they were too busy making out. They didn't even bother to break away or to think of a plan to sneak out of the bathroom. They didn't want to end the passion in a rush, so they decided to take their time sharing their first kiss.

_**To the gang:**_

Some time passed after Sasuke left, the girls had waited longer for Sakura, but she hasn't come back. They made up their mind because they didn't want to wait anymore.

Ino said, "Hinata, I'm starting to get worried about Sakura."

"Yeah, I am, too." Hinata said back, "We should go look for her."

Before they could go for their search, Naruto received a text message. "Huh?" he picked up his cell and opened to read. It was from his best friend, Sasuke.

The message said:  
_Dobe, I am with Sakura. I'm taking her home, so tell the others not to worry._

Naruto grinned, "Guys, Sasuke found Sakura. He says not to worry." They got surprised by the news.

"I can't believe it!" Ino exclaimed, "Is that really true, Naruto?"

"Seriously, Naruto?" Sai asked him.

Naruto answered, "Yeah! He said that he's taking her home."

Sai smiled, "Besides what was not planned, we had a good day today."

"You're right about that, Sai!" Naruto agreed, "Hey, Hinata! What are you up to next?"

Hinata blushed when her crush started talking to her now. "Um…" she played her fingers shyly, "I'm actually going to walk home myself."

"Going home alone by yourself? That might not be a good idea, Hinata." Naruto rejected the thought of Hinata walking home in the dark, for it sounded awfully dangerous. "Besides, it's getting dark. I'll go with you and keep you company." Hinata blushed red on her cheeks and glanced at Ino who smiled telling her to go with him, so she agreed to let him walk her.

Hinata and Naruto waved goodbye to their friends, leaving them alone. Ino squeezed her hands close and squealed with triumph. _Yes! This couldn't have gone better if we'd planned it _she felt so proud with herself that she and her friends were with their crushes alone together.

Sai was watching Ino acting so strange, and he wondered whether she was having an inner breakdown or thinking about something. He was about to ask her, but she tugged on his arm, "Let's go, Sai! Walk me home?" He blinked in confusion as she pulled him away from her.

_**To sasusaku:**_

Sasusaku arrived to Sakura's house. It was a two-story craftsman house with a six-foot concrete wall around the house, and a black gate door for people and driveway. There was a cherry blossom tree on the front lawn. There were LED lights were outside on the bottom of the house, and one by the front gate. It was a well-protected house due to Kizashi's security for his family.

"This is it." Sakura said, "Thanks for walking me home, Sasuke-kun." She then removed the hood off of her head, which was Sasuke's sweater she was wearing to cover her bad haircut. "And thanks for lending me your jacket, it was a big help."

She was about to take it off to give it back, but he stopped her. "Keep it." He held her shoulder, "You can give it back later."

She smiled with a blush at him. He was drawn to her smile, it was so innocent and honest, and her emerald eyes were glittering dark beautifully with the moonlight, it locked his eyes to them from looking away. Then, he leaned to her and she noticed what he was doing. So, she leaned up to him and closed her eyes as he closed his. They shared another passionate kiss, and they held each other gently.

Later, the kiss lasted for a minute and they stared deeply into their eyes as their foreheads were touching. Their eyes were doing the talking for some time, until they broke the connection to give each other a warm and tight embrace. They hugged absorbing love and wanting the moment not to last so soon.

Sakura leaned back as he held her waist, "Sasuke-kun…"

"What is it, Sakura?" Sasuke wondered why she started moving back.

"About what we talked at the food court…" she explained, "I hope it didn't upset you…to make you remember about—you know."

"Ahh, that…" he understood what she meant. "You don't have to worry about that." She stared at him to be sure he was not upset, but the way his expression and voice cleared he was fine. "I have to get going, we'll see each other at school, right?"

She smiled, "Right, see you later." She waved goodbye as he left heading home. She turned entering the front gate and went to the door. Meanwhile, she blushed _I can't believe it. I walked home and kissed by Sasuke Uchiha. This was the most unexpected day of my life. _As she reached to the front door, she calmly pulled out her keys and unlocked the door, and entered the house. Inside the house, she immediately removed the jacket and went upstairs to her room. "I'll give this back to him tomorrow morning at school."

Outside, Sasuke watched her the whole time as she went inside her house. He expected to hear her squeal with excitement and cheer about having him as her boyfriend, but it never happened. It was nothing he expected. "I was wrong and right about her." He smirked, "She's secretly nothing like those annoying fangirls at school, and nothing like those clueless people who looked down on family." Then, he smirked, "She exceeded my expectations…since she is Kizashi Haruno's daughter." He turned around and started heading home, "I hate to admit…she is perfect."

_**To Naruhina:**_

Naruto and Hinata were walking down the streets, heading down the way to Hinata's neighborhood. They were communicating about Naruto's determination and dream, and Hinata had always seen it inspiration.

"Whenever I try my best, it usually gets messed up in the end." Naruto said loudly, "I'm still never going give up." He then clutched a fist, "I will knock out every class I'll attend in college and reach my destiny." He was so determined to accomplish his dream of being the new leader of the Uzumaki Company.

"Naruto-kun…" Hinata blushed and confessed happily, "that's the part of you that people never fail to see." He looked at her. "I think you're more capable of succeeding than most people at school."

He widened that for the first time someone who talked something good about him. "Why would you think that?" he wanted to know what she thinks of him and understands about him.

"Well, whenever you fail in something in school, you always try again to fix your mistakes." She said as she started playing with her fingers. "You never lose faith in something you start, and you put all your efforts sticking into it even if it takes a lot of time."

She smiled with a blush, "That's why I believe in you. My heart tells me that you'll achieve all your goals."

Naruto widened how Hinata held hopes for him to do well in school and in college, and she was the first person to acknowledge him. He started to have a small spark on Hinata for her kind heart. "Thanks, Hinata! No one ever said anything nice to me like that before." She looked up at him, "You know, I like people like you."

She blushed at him with wide eyes and pink blush on her cheeks. She was speechless what he just said to her. _You like people like me?_ She wanted to faint, but she got hold on herself because she didn't want to ruin the walking with her long-time crush.

Not far from them, Neji was walking out in the night on a date with Tenten. "Neji?" Tenten called him and he turned to her in question, "Is that Hinata? I didn't know she was going out with Naruto."

That shocked Neji, so he looked to see and found his cousin indeed with his enemy. _What is she doing with that rebelling Naruto? _He noticed them smiling and Hinata blushing at Naruto. The look on his cousin's face was to be like she was falling for him, and he was disgusted to the idea of her dating him. _I won't allow her dating that son of the bloodthirsty monster. _He glared at Naruto with bitterness, and he needed to think of something how to Naruto away from Hinata. However, he won't do it alone…so he will have his friends to help him.

**Uh-oh, Neji is taking his hatred toward Naruto so serious. I hope Naruto and Hinata will survive through. **

**I am so glad that sasusaku are together and I hope for Ino and Hinata with their crushes. **

**Well, stay tune for the next chapter. Enjoy reading.**


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Trouble in School

The next day at school, Sakura went to her class. When she entered the school gate, she had eyes turned to her direction. The girls gossiped that she will not have Sasuke looking at her with short hair, but some liked it for seeing it nice. In addition, she had some boys looking at her for finding her cute with her new haircut.

With her friends, they took it quite of a shock. Ino went on a girl rampage on her, asking her why cut her long hair and what made think about cutting it, and demanded for a straight answer and a real reason. Hinata held her back, calming her down. Sakura sweat dropped and laughed from Ino's hustle. She decided to tell them during break time, which Ino reluctantly agreed, so they accepted to wait for it.

_**During break time:**_

Sakura told her friends the whole story. Hinata and Ino were upset how Karin tortured her and her two friends helped supporting it, and Ino took it hard.

"So, they just ran off scot-free." Ino exclaimed, "You shouldn't have it like this, Sakura."

Hinata agreed. "That's right! What happened yesterday shouldn't be overlooked."

"Don't you remember that time? It was important for you." Ino tried to reason her about reporting Karin and remember their childhood goal.

_Flashback:_

_Back during kindergarten, Sakura went to the park with her parents, running to find her best friends. When she found them, she called them while waving her arm out. "Ino! Hinata!"_

_They both heard her and were happy to see her. "Sakura!" Ino was glad that she came because she wanted to play together with her friends in the park. "I am so happy to see you here, Sakura. Now that the three of us are here, let's go play!" Hinata clapped her hands with excitement._

_Before they go play, Sakura stopped them. "Wait a minute! I have something to tell you." Ino and Hinata turned to listen with curiosity. She stated, "I have decided to grow my hair long!" Hinata blushed for liking the idea, and Ino stared blankly because remembered hearing in class that Sasuke likes girls with long hair._

_So, Ino decided, "Since you will do that, I will also let my hair grow." Sakura clapped cheerily, and then they both turned to Hinata._

_Hinata blushed red and shrieked from the stare. "W-what?" they leaned close and she stepped back. "What's wrong with you guys?!"_

"_Nothing…we are just wondering if you are going to let you hair grow like us." Sakura stated a question, "Are you going to grow your hair?"_

"_Well, are you?" Ino asked next with hurry._

_Hinata stared back and forth at them and stuttered, "Well…I…" she spoke shyly while playing with her fingers. "I-I…Yes, I will!" she shouted with an outburst which started them and the people around. _

"_Alright…" Ino said, "it's decided. Us girls will grow our hair long with gorgeous beauty!" Sakura and Hinata cheered as they clapped hands. _

Sakura smiled for remembering that childhood time. "Yeah, I never forgot that day, but it will take time for it to grow back." She said while stroking her hair, "It's not so bad, anyway. Good thing, my mom was able to fix it last night. She and my dad were taken by surprise when they saw it."

_Last night:_

_When she arrived home, she went to her room to change. She placed Sasuke's jacket on the computer desk and changed into her pajamas. Afterwards, she stared at her mirror to see her haircut again. She sighed as she stroked it._

_She heard a knock and her mother calling. "Sakura, you're back already?" Mebuki opened the door, "Saku-ah! Your hair! What happened to you?!"_

_Before she could tell her mother, her father came after hearing the screech. "Mebuki, what is—!" When he saw Sakura's hair, he wanted to ask but the sight of the messy haircut pause his voice. They entered her room slowly, still in shock. "Sakura…what happened to your hair?" he wanted to hear the real story and with true words._

"_Did you cut it? Or did somebody do this to you?" Mebuki asked as she touched Sakura's hair, brushing it softly._

"_Of course not, Mebuki." Kizashi suggested, "It's pretty obvious that someone did this to her." He asked Sakura to get the actual truth. "Sakura, did someone cut your hair forcefully? Don't say you and your friends had a 'Girls Haircut Day' because I know you girls are smart enough of having hairs well-groomed instead of leaving it as a mess."_

_Sakura stared at her father and then looked down, "Yes, daddy…you're right." She looked back up at him, "I was at the mall with my friends…" she told him the whole story and Kizashi became upset. Mebuki was also upset and hugged her while rubbing her back._

"_Okay, but I am glad you're alright, Sakura." Kizashi sighed, "Tomorrow morning I'm going to have a talk with the principal and discuss what punishment those girls should have." Sakura wanted to tell her dad that he didn't need to do that, but she knew how serious he was. Her dad has always been a serious man as he has always been a loving, caring father and husband. Then, he went back to his room. _

"_Come with me, Sakura. I need to fix this bad haircut," Mebuki took her and led her to the kitchen. _

"If I were you, Sakura, I would go and explain to the principal what they did to me." Ino idolized herself as Sakura with different personality. Hinata agreed again and would do exactly what she should do if she gets tortured by bullies.

Sakura reasoned, "I actually want to avoid problems when I have other things that are important." She believed that reporting bullies to the principal will only bring her more enemies and trouble.

"Well, don't think that we didn't see you coming to school with your dad." Ino and Hinata grinned. "Unlike you, he doesn't overlook bullying and does the right thing by report the incident." Sakura sighed and dropped head in depressed aura because she hoped that her friends wouldn't notice her dad in the school campus.

"Kizashi-san is not only a great detective," Hinata complimented "he is also a devoted and caring father. He wants to protect you because he loves you." Sakura smiled and closed her eyes with pink cheeks, and she has known how much her dad loves her similarly as she loves him. He has always loved her in all her life.

"Thanks to him, Karin and her friends will soon get what they deserve." Ino said, "Another thing, Sakura, shouldn't you be looking for him? Or you are planning to later?"

Sakura jerked and Hinata said, "We saw you carrying a bag and had Sasuke's jacket in it when you came to class." Ino gave her a freaky eye-looking stare, and she figured that Sakura has won having Sasuke as her boyfriend.

Sakura blushed, "Now that you mentioned, I really should go return his jacket before break ends."

Ino and Hinata cheered with encouragement, "What are you waiting for?! Go and show him what you are made of!" Sakura laughed shyly and left to go find Sasuke.

After Sakura left, Ino whispered so none of Sasuke's fangirl would hear her. "Hinata, I am so happy for her." Hinata smiled for feeling the same for her friend. "I am wondering about you. Have you told Naruto that you like him yesterday?"

She shrieked with red face and stuttered randomly about what happened last night. Ino couldn't understand, so she interjected by pointing a finger at her. "So you didn't tell him. Alright, I'll help you!"

Hinata was about to talk, but Ino interrupted her. "I have to find Sai right now, so I will help you later." It gave Hinata relief because she wasn't ready to learn some lessons—acting and talking like a real girl. So, Ino left and Hinata went to find a space to study.

_**To Naruto:**_

Naruto was inside the classroom, reading a textbook. It appeared that he was having trouble with the chapter he was reading for the exam because he couldn't understand a thing about the topic. He sighed, "Characteristics of the seventeenth century, I should ask Hinata for some help."

Suddenly, his book got snatched out of his hands and he looked up. It was his best friend, Sasuke. "History…" he asked, "Since when you decide to study during break time?"

Naruto glared for a moment and stood up, "While you are dealing with your crazy fan club," he straightened up and lifted a thumb facing himself, "I, the new Naruto Uzumaki, am studying to pass those exams."

"New?" Sasuke sweat dropped, "All I see is the same old idiot I see every day." He then closed the book and asked, "I just heard you mentioning Hinata. Did something happen between you and her yesterday?"

"N-nothing!" Naruto stuttered blushing, "She's just helping me with my studies!" He turned his face away, "Besides, it's none of your business." Sasuke shrugged that he could care less with whatever business Naruto has.

"What about you, teme?" He then opened his left eye and turned back, "You left in a rush after giving me your food order. I had a hunch that you went looking for Sakura-chan when she didn't come back."

Sasuke stood silent for a second as he was facing Naruto with a confused. "What are you saying, dobe?" Since he was young, he has had skills of concealing his secrets from his friends with a professional expression of confusion, and he has intended trying harder acting confused every time he is alone with Naruto. Therefore, Naruto was smart enough to figure him out when he can tell Sasuke was lying.

"Come on, man!" Naruto was trying harder to crack him up, "You're my best friend. What are you planning on doing with Sakura-chan?" He wasn't planning on giving up having Sasuke talk to him.

"Why would I plan something?" Sasuke asked.

"Sakura-chan has been in our class for a long time." Naruto reasoned, "Why are you suddenly so interested in her now? What that girl did to you long ago doesn't mean all girls are like that. Playing like that will do nothing good to anyone, not even you."

"That was a long time ago." Sasuke remembered the girl who he previously liked and got hurt from. "It has nothing to do with the present." He considered that girl nothing but a heartthrob, but Sakura is nothing like that because he has known her since elementary school. She is so different from all of his annoying fangirls, so he believed that she will never do anything to hurt him with betrayal. He has known her well.

_**To Sakura:**_

Sakura was walking through the hallways, searching for Sasuke. _I wonder where he is? _Sakura wondered, _He wasn't at the field where he usually goes hang around alone._ Before she noticed, she arrived close to her classroom and decided to check if Sasuke was inside.

_If he is studying inside the classroom, I hope I'm not disrupting him. _As she reached the doorknob, she opened the door a little and heard voices inside.

"As I said before, teme." She recognized whose voice belonged to. _Naruto? _ "Since that time, you became egocentric and didn't care about anyone else." _Who is he talking to?_

She then heard him included. "Sakura-chan is a nice girl." Naruto said. _What are they talking about? _"You shouldn't play with her like that."

"Don't worry yourself on what I do and don't do, dobe." She heard another voice and knew who it was. _Sasuke-kun?_

She grew shocked, at the most part when Naruto mentioned Sasuke playing with her like a dating pet. _Sasuke-kun…is playing with me? _She felt her heart was pounding with hurt and she couldn't breathe. It was like she was ripping away by the boy she has been crushing on since elementary school who was just using her to seek entertainment. Her hand slowly let go of the doorknob and dropped the bag on the floor. She then ran off through the hallway.

_**To Sasuke and Naruto:**_

"I don't need your sermons either." Sasuke said. He threw textbook back to Naruto who quickly caught it. "Take your book. Just for you to know, I am not playing with her." He lastly suggested, "You don't know where you get that playing stuff from, so get it out of your mind."

Naruto stared, "So, you're seriously not?" He was somewhat not cleared about Sasuke being serious with his relationship to Sakura. He wanted real closure about his unsolved inquisition.

_Baka! _Sasuke casually shook his head for considering Naruto as an idiotic dumbass, and he wondered what made Naruto think that he would be play-dating Sakura. He also thought why Naruto would ponder enough to understand him about his honesty to Sakura.

When he was about to walk out of the classroom, he spotted the paper bag on the floor. So, he picked it up and looked inside. Naruto went close to see what his pause and saw the bag. Sasuke pulled out the jacket that was inside, and Naruto recognized. "Teme, isn't that your jacket you wore yesterday?"

Sasuke remembered giving his jacket to Sakura last night. _Sakura was here? _He wondered why she wasn't right there with the bag, and he did promise her that he would wait for her to give it back to him. He pondered if she was standing by the door and listened to the conversation he had with Naruto, but she must have ran off before hearing the end of it. _Did she heard…?_

Naruto watched Sasuke standing there quietly and looking into space for a minute. "Teme, what's with you?" he asked, but Sasuke didn't listen to him. "Did something happen?"

Sasuke quickly gave Naruto the bag and ran to the hallway, "Naruto, there's something I need to take care! I'll be back later!"

"Huh? What?!" Naruto called while trying to ask, but Sasuke was gone. He grew depressed aura with a trail of falling tears, "Why won't Teme tell me what's going on?"

_**Outside the school building:**_

There were a lot of students around, friends chatting and hanging around. Inside the crowd, Hinata was there sitting on a bench, reading her history textbook. She was studying calmly and silently. Not so far from her was Neji observing her, and his friend, Rock Lee, with him.

"So, Hinata was out with Naruto last night?" Rock Lee said, "I don't see what the problem is, Neji."

"You don't understand, Lee. Hinata is the only heir of the Hyuga Company." Neji explained, "If she maintains her relationship with Naruto, there will be trouble with the Hyuga family. Naruto is the part of the Uzumaki Company which is the biggest rival of the Hyuga Company, and there had been many conflicts that Hinata doesn't know."

Lee understood the situation. "I see. That lays the problem, but what will you do?"

"I don't know." Neji said, "If I can avoid it, I won't do anything as long that doesn't jeopardize the family business. Otherwise, I will do anything I can to get between them."

Out came Naruto, looking for Hinata. "Where is she?" He searched for her everywhere inside the building, so then he came outside. He really needed her help for the final exams. "Where…where…?" he turned and looked around the area.

Until, he spotted her on a bench and went to her. "Hinata!"

When Hinata heard someone calling her, she recognized the voice. She looked up and saw the person who she assumed was right. "Naruto-kun?" she wondered if he was looking for her.

"There you are!" Naruto said, "I have been looking for you everywhere!"

_Naruto-kun was looking for me?_ Hinata blushed with the thought of her long-time crush looking for her.

"Hinata, I need to—" he was about to ask a question, but he tripped his foot on a half-open cement title without noticing it. "AAAAHHHH!" he yelled while he was falling forward.

Hinata noticed his fall and sat still, watching. Neji heard the scream and turned to see, and he found the most disgusted scene he greatly hated to see. He caught Naruto kneeling and had his upper body on Hinata's legs. Lee blushed and screamed for thinking that Naruto was lying on Hinata only to feel her. Not only Neji and Lee were seeing them, some of the students close by watched the whole fallen incident and were seeing Naruto on Hinata.

"Ow!" Naruto groaned from the impact of the fall. Hinata almost felt like she was going to faint while Naruto was on her, but she was more worried about him being hurt from his fall. "Naruto-kun?" She asked him, "Are you alright?"

Naruto lifted his head up, looking at her. "Yeah, I'm okay. Sorry about that." He was about to ask while standing up, "I only came—" He got grabbed from behind and was thrown away. "Ahhg!" he hit his back on the cement ground.

"Get away from her, Uzumaki!" Neji shouted with great anger, and his shout caused more students gathered around. He threw Naruto very hard because he wanted him to get hurt. For likely the reason he believed that Naruto was attempting to arouse Hinata in a physical way.

"Neji!" Hinata cried. "Why are you doing this?! He did nothing wrong!" She pleaded her cousin to assure him that Naruto did nothing to hurt her and it was just an accident.

However, Neji was a person to refuse to listen to reason. He coldly scolded, "You still have to ask?! Perhaps you don't deserve to carry the Hyuga name!" Although he seemed to be cold person, he does care about Hinata and wanted nothing but to protect her.

"Can't you realize anything without getting mixed up with the rebels like Naruto?!" Neji asked her. "You're a disgrace!" His attitude appeared to be that he hinders Hinata for being too gentle and reasonable with their family's worst enemy's son. "Naruto will only cause you problems, and his surname will curse him!" He believed that people from the Uzumaki family were full of liars, and the Uzumaki name was bound to hell.

"Neji…" Lee said as he listened to his cursed words and watching him scolding Hinata so harsh. He sensed him having great power and pride from hate. He knew that it was hurtful, but he wouldn't allow himself from getting scolded by Neji for lecturing him.

Naruto listened to every insult Neji said about his family and to Hinata which made him angry. He clutched a fist, "Hey! You piece of shit!" Neji and Hinata heard him.

He shouted to Neji, "Before you insult any more about my family or Hinata, you better wash that mouth of yours!" While he was talking, he pulled out his long forehead band and tied around his head. "Who do you think you are for giving orders around here? You think you are a ruler in this school?"

After he finished tying his headband, he gave Neji a hand out telling him to come at him. "I'll give you a fist to see reason, and Hinata will be free from your vile ambitions and be mine." Everyone around were stunned for hearing that Naruto wants to have Hinata for himself and impressed how he was calling for a fight against Neji for her.

Hinata steamed red as she played with her fingers, "Be his…?" In her mind, it repeated the last phrase about Naruto saying that she will be his. It may be cleared that he was declaring her as his girlfriend, or did he meant that he wants to fight for her freedom from her controlling cousin.

Rock Lee shouted, "Oh?! That was quite a sexual implication!" He pretty much took Naruto's words to a big conclusion.

Neji closed a fist, filling up with great anger. "Fine! If that's what you want, I'll show you who you're really messing with." He strongly wanted to beat his worst enemy to the gutter, which his fist was itching for, and he wanted to keep him faraway from Hinata.

"Fight! Fight! Fight!" the whole school around cheered. "Neji…" Tenten watched the whole thing and didn't cheer with the others because she was worrying for Neji and what would happen in the end of the fight.

Naruto lifted up his fists and Neji stood in his family's signature, _Gentle Fist_ fighting style. They both stood for a second, until Naruto was the first to move. He shouted, "You'll be the one who will see regret!" as he held up a fist ready to hit Neji.

_**To Sasuke: **_

Sasuke was walking through the hallways, still looking for Sakura. He couldn't find her anywhere, and it was taking him a long time but he kept searching.

"Where could she have gone?" Sasuke wondered, "I searched everywhere inside and outside. And she was not even by the cherry tree where she always sits."

While he was walking, he assumed that Sakura only heard Naruto saying about him being a player and ran off before hearing the end. He was pretty sure that she was feeling hurt with heartbreak and angry with him. She is angry with Sasuke instead of Naruto because he pointed the conflict at him for his own assumption. So, she listened and reacted without a doubt.

Therefore, he will confront the truth with her when she finds her. _She couldn't have gone far…_

_**To Sakura: **_

Sakura was in the hallway, leaning on an open window and staring outside. The breeze blew her short hair, which felt so nice, but it didn't calm the hurt she was having. She had sadness in her eyes with a frown, but she wasn't crying.

She was trying to understand the conversation she heard from Sasuke and Naruto. "That's what all it was? Why didn't I notice it before?" she said in a low voice. For a long time, she had known Sasuke…or so she thought she knows him. She never thought that he had a hidden personality, like he has two faces of good and bad.

Without turning around, Sasuke arrived and looked to his right, finding her. _There she is…Sakura… _He was about to call her, but he noticed the pose she was standing and the frown she had. His theory confirmed the sensation she was having from the conversation, so he must face her with the misunderstanding she mistaken.

_Who would have thought about it? Everything was going just fine until that…! _She closed her eyes and gritted her teeth not so hard, and Sasuke went to her. _I don't know what to think of him anymore._ She had blanks in her mind on what to think about him, but in her heart she still held feelings for him. _I still love him…it hurts…_

Sasuke finally approached behind her and leaned to her left ear, "After a long time of finding you, I don't know whether I kiss you or not for the whole day." Sakura jerked a little but didn't scream with fright, "What do you think, Sakura?"

She turned around, and she was about to say something but didn't let words come out. "I'm sorry, Sasuke-kun. I have to go!"

She tried to leave, but he held her from leaving. "You're not going anywhere until you tell how much you heard." She tried to get free, but he grabbed her arm in a tight grip.

While she was fighting him, he was too strong and impossible for her to get away from him. She wanted him to let her go, yet he kept holding her. Then turned her facing him, she didn't face him or gave him a small glance. She answered lowly, tears falling down from her eyes, "Enough for me to know that you are a liar."

"Oh, really? You don't know a thing about me!" he shouted angrily as he held both of her arms. "If you like eavesdropping behind doors, you should have stayed listening until the end of the conversation."

"It wasn't on purpose! I was only returning your jacket back! Now get away from me!" she yelled and pushed him back. He released her arms, "If you like to play around with girls, find someone else! You have plenty of your fangirls who can provide entertainment for you!" he glared angrily, feeling his nerves ticking him off. "I hope you have a lot of fun!"

"Will you shut up for a bit?!" he snapped at her which surprised her. Another, he grabbed her waist and pulled her closer to him. He kissed her, and she wanted to pull away but didn't.

The kiss she was feeling it so passionate and real. A real kiss, there was nothing fake. How he moved his lips with such motion, it had drawn her to respond back and not wanting it to end. Later, the kiss ended with loud smooch and they let out a breath to breathe.

"Sakura…I will only say this once. Please, listen to me." He pulled her closer to hug her, "What Naruto said was his only guess. There is no games going on with us, I'm serious." He tightened his embrace but gently, so he would not hurt her.

_Naruto…_ she started feeling ashamed that she believed Naruto's words and didn't wait to hear Sasuke's true words. She would have waited for the end, but she let her emotions run her. Instead of waiting, she believed Naruto more. She'll remember next time when she overhears backstabbing conversations and not take any hurtful words about the one she loves.

"Sasuke-kun…" she hugged him back, "I'm sorry. He sounded serious and I believed him without a second thought." She gripped on his shirt behind with shame for doubting him, _I'm such an idiot._

"Hmph!" he said, "Not everyone sound serious, unless you know them." She tiptoed up and he leaned down, and they kissed passionately. They moved with such passion, savoring their tongues with dominance.

While they were making out, "Excuse me" someone interrupted the moment which took by surprise. "It is very troublesome for me to interrupt something very intimating."

It was shikamaru…for his picky word _troublesome. _"What's going on, Shikamaru?" Sasuke asked him.

"I only came to tell that Naruto got himself into trouble." Shikamaru explained, "You should go see it yourself because he is fighting against Neji."

Sasusaku were shocked by the message. "Neji?!" Sakura said, "He's the best fighter in martial arts."

"What made them come into fistfights?" Sasuke wanted to know what the reason caused them to fight.

_**To Naruto vs. Neji:**_

The reason was simple…Hinata Hyuga. They are fighting for her.

Naruto was down, holding himself up to prevent from falling. He was bleeding from the lips, blood dripping a little, and had some bruises on the arms. His clothes were mess up.

"Ugh! Damn it!" he grunted. He was feeling bruised, but he wouldn't give up. He still want to fight more…for Hinata.

"Ha!" Neji commented his skills, "You really turn out to be a weakling, Uzumaki." He believed Naruto was nowhere near good to fight him and too easy to beat. He was also beat up with bruises and clothes messed up. He was also bleeding on the lips which wiped the blood off. In his hand, he had Naruto's forehead band which he snatched during the fistfight without Naruto noticing.

Hinata watched the whole fight and cried with desperation, telling them to stop. "Neji! That's enough!" She cried and had tears, "Just leave him alone!" She really wanted her cousin to stop fighting, and she was scared that the boy she loves getting hurt with brutal injuries. The least she wanted was them hurting themselves.

_Hinata…_ Ino watched the seriousness in the fight was getting and the hopelessness Hinata was having for them. Along with Sai, he just stood watching Naruto and Neji; instead of worrying, he was curious on the end of the fight.

While Hinata was crying, she heard Naruto called her. "Dry those tears, Hinata! I'm not done yet!" She looked at him and saw him standing back up, "Ugh…this was just a warmup!"

_Impossible… _Neji muddled about Naruto, _After so many hits, he still wants to fight more._ After Naruto stood up, he held a determined look on his face. _So, he wasn't kidding a bit. He's serious what he said to Hinata._

"Don't cry…believe in me!" Naruto grinned with a thumb, pointing at himself. _Naruto-kun…_ Hinata grasped her hands together to her chest.

"You can keep talking, but you better stop giving Hinata false hopes," Neji revolted him about his 'fake' compassion to his cousin.

Naruto was about to argue back when he spotted his headband in Neji's hand. He touched his forehead for a second and felt nothing but his skin. "Give that back!" he demanded.

"This thing…" Neji looked at it and smirked, "it's nothing but a piece of trash." He threw it down and stomped it with his shoe.

That pissed Naruto off really bad. His eyes turned furious and he gritted his teeth hard. "You…" he muttered, "You're a fucking asshole, Neji!"

_What the hell?!_ Neji was stunned for seeing the new outburst he ever seen. He was looking and sounding very serious.

(~~~~~~)

Then, Sakura and Sasuke arrived to the fighting zone. "Ino! What's happened?!" Sakura asked while looking at the fight.

Before Ino could answer, they heard Naruto shout. "This ends here!" he started running at Neji, ready to take him down.

"About time you got serious!" Neji reclaimed and advanced forward to attack. "Prepare yourself, Uzumaki!"

"Neji!" Tenten cried. Lee and Sasuke widened as they witnessed the final blow.

Hinata became speechless after watching the last attack. Naruto and Neji had given their last shot with their fist. Afterwards, they passed each other and waited for the impact. Shortly for a second, Naruto grinned with a laugh.

Neji looked behind and found the headband in Naruto's hand. _What? _He was confused and looked down at his hand, finding the headband gone. _How did he?_

Naruto started falling forward, but Sasuke caught him. "I gotcha! You okay, Naruto?"

"How predictable." Karin said who also watched the whole fight, "It's pretty clear Neji won."

"I would suggest you talk less and watch more, Karin" Suigetsu recommended. He is Karin's friend and in the same grade as she is.

"Ugh!" Neji winced and dropped down. _Not only he reclaimed the headband, he…_

"Neji!" Tenten again cried but was shocked to see Neji beaten for the first time. Not only was her, the whole school stunned to see Neji's first defeat.

"I knew it." Naruto said with a big grin in satisfaction, "he wasn't as fast as he thought." He stood up with ease and faced Neji, "You aren't as good in martial arts as they always said."

Neji glared but still hurt, "Now listen…I won't tolerate you insulting my family again. Like it or not, Hinata and I will keep seeing each other more."

Hinata blushed, "Naruto-kun…"

"Unless you'd want some advice, you should talk to somebody about that attitude of yours." He finished talking as he tied his headband back on.

"Naruto!" he tensed when the familiar shout. "You've gotten into big trouble again!" It was Tsunade, the school principal. She was the most strict and scariest woman. If any student causes any trouble in school grounds, she would definitely get really mad. "In my office this instant!" she had Iruka- and Kakashi-sensei with her.

Naruto wanted to tell her that it wasn't his fault, but he knew that she wouldn't listen to reason quite yet. Iruka-sensei went to him, "Let's just go, Naruto."

"It wasn't my fault," Naruto whispered. "I swear, Iruka-sensei."

"Yeah, I know. I believe you." Iruka-sensei had no doubt of believing him because he had known Neji having grudge on Naruto and his family name since their first year of high school. "I will talk with him after school."

"He fought for you, Hinata." Ino reminded, "Go! Do the same for him." She encouraged Hinata to defend Naruto in return and confront with Tsunade about happened before the fight.

"Ino-chan…" Hinata blushed, still nervous to do so.

"Damn!" Lee stated, "Naruto really proved as a great opponent." Neji silently glared, and he won't be giving up yet. He was still hurt to get up, so Tenten helped him.

(~~~~~~)

Later, Lee turned and spotted Sakura who went to Sasuke. His face drooled with affection and red cheeks, so he found his true love. He first needed to be a polite man and then ask her out.

"Hey!" he called out, "Beautiful and sexy girl with green eyes!"

Sakura stopped with confusion, "Huh?...Are you talking to me?"

_Sexy, huh? _ Sasuke twitched for seeing a boy hitting on his girlfriend…for the first to see a fanboy. _He's dead!_

"You're the most beautiful girl I've ever seen!" he gave her a wink with a flash smile, "Go out with me and enjoy our flame of youth!" He blew out two heart kisses.

"The what?!" Sakura jilted back and shrieked, "Get those away from me!" She got disgusted to receive a 'creepy' valentine hearts from a boy she never met.

Luckily, Sasuke saved her in time. He went in front of her and popped the hearts with his finger.

Lee screamed with outrage, "You broke my love profession for her!" He quickly assumed the reason of the interference. "Then that means you and her are having a burning extracurricular relationship?"

That paused every fangirl around when they heard Lee mentioning Sasuke in relationship with Sakura. Their reaction turned suspicious and Karin was skeptical about the thought; they don't want to believe it was happening for real. They all doubt that Sasuke would be dating an ugly forehead girl like Sakura.

_Burning? _Sasuke raised an eyebrow confused. "Hmph!" he decided to give his answer, "If you want to know if Sakura and I are in a relationship, then the answer is yes. Sakura and I are together. You satisfied?"

Naruto stood in surprise after hearing Sasuke's confession. _So, you weren't kidding. You're serious about her. _He sighed happy for them.

"WHAT! IT CAN'T BE!" The fangirls cried with tears in jealousy, "WHY?!" They all wanted to know how Sakura got Sasuke to be her boyfriend and what does she have that attracted Sasuke. They really wanted to know why her.

Sasuke looked around and noticed all eyes staring at him, and he confusedly raised an eyebrow wondering everyone was staring at him. Sakura blushed from her boyfriend's public announcement and noticed many girls glaring at her with jealousy. They both frowned, _I knew this was going to turn out bad when they find out._

"Interesting." Suigetsu complicated, "Sasuke would dare say something like that in public. Huh, Karin?" Karin stood shock with a wide-open mouth, like her worst nightmare has come true.

Naruto stared out in wonder and Iruka-sensei glanced at him, _Naruto, you…_


End file.
